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Even in 2025, new Jeffrey Epstein reports are still rocking the British royal family. This time, Sarah Ferguson’s ties to the convicted sex offender have resurfaced, including how the Duchess apologized to Epstein personally after distancing herself from him in public. And now, we’re seeing how those revelations are affecting her status in the royal family, as well as Prince Andrew’s.
According to the BBC, up to date seven different charities have removed the Duchess of York as a patron or ambassador after the email leak confirmed she referred to Epstein as “my dear, dear friend Jeffrey,” and asked for his forgiveness for public criticism of him. Julia’s House, a children’s hospice, said considering the circumstances, it was “inappropriate” for Ferguson to continue in the role.
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The Teenage Cancer Trust, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Children’s Literacy Charity, National Foundation for Retired Service Animals and Prevent Breast Cancer have also removed the Duchess of York as a patron, while the British Heart Foundation announced she would no longer be its ambassador.
Ferguson has not commented directly on the charities’ decision, but a spokesperson for the Duchess did speak on the matter of the leaked emails, saying, “This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.” Epstein had threatened to sue after the Duchess of York publicly condemned him, calling him a pedophile.
Prince Andrew was forced to step down from his role as a working royal and lost all his patronages due to his own association with Epstein, which continued after the disgraced sex offender was released from jail. For Prince Andrew, it all came to a head during a BBC Newsnight interview in 2019.
Recently, resurfaced supportive messages from Peter Mandelson to Epstein saw him lose his position as Britain’s ambassador to the US.
This comes after reports that the Duchess’ pregnant affair scandal was really what destroyed the marriage between her and Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew reportedly spent most of the year away from his family, and loneliness was the main reason Ferguson found comfort in other men, including American Steve Wyatt, who she had an affair with while pregnant with her second daughter, Eugenie. “Steve Wyatt was the main reason for the breakdown of her marriage,” David Leigh, co-author of The Duchess of York Uncensored claimed.
“She met him at a time of her life when she was exceptionally low and felt Andrew wasn’t supporting her. She went to Texas and she met a very handsome and rich Texan who was very attentive and loving and they very quickly fell in love,” he added. “Andrew may have been her best friend, and he probably still is now and probably always will be, but Steve Wyatt was the love life of her life.”
But she was married, and later Wyatt moved on. So did Fergie, with other affairs that became public knowledge and precipitated the divorce. Despite the divorce, though, she and Andrew have remained a unit and publicly supported each other scandal through scandal. But this last one might be the tipping point, with Prince William eager to modernize the monarchy and keep it away from scandal.
Recently, sources have reported that Prince William hates his uncle and wants him to disappear from public life. He also reportedly wants to evict Andrew from his home, Royal Lodge, which he shares with Ferguson. “[William] also loathes Sarah, Andrew’s ex-wife, and can’t wait for the day when his father throws them both out. If Charles doesn’t, I guarantee you the first thing William does when he eventually becomes king is to get them evicted,” Andrew Lownie’s book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York , says.
Prince Andrew is pretty much already a pariah. Sarah Ferguson is now facing consequences for her own associations with Epstein. It’s probably fair to say the two won’t be involved in whatever the monarchy ends up being going forward.
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